Earth-auger



(No Model.) v

A.AH. MEIBR.

BARTH AUGBR.

No. 570,810. Y l, Patented Nov. 3, 1896.

W CQ f l i 77@ l UNITED STATES PATENT GEEIGE.

AUGUST II. MEIER, OF MARBLE ROCK, IOVA, ASSIGNOIt'F ONE-HALF TO LUGIUS H. LANGWORTI-IY, OF DUBUQUE, IOVA.

EARTH-AUG ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,810, dated November 3, 1896.

Application filed January 20,1896. Serial No. 576,208. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, AUGUST II. MEIER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marble Rock, in the county of Floyd and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Post-Angers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to provide a self-feeding tool for digging post-holes which can be used with ease and which will open a hole in the soil with great rapidity; and it consists, essentially, in a scoop to one end of which a handle is attached for operating the same and its other end terminating in three blades, one of which makes the advanced cut and slightly holds the dirt. The second blade follows with a broader out and also slightly holds the dirt, the third blade doing no cutting but retaining the soil in the scoop, and also serving as a gage to determine the depth of the cut.

In order to enable others familiar with this class of tools to make and use thesame, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which- Figure l is a perspective of the tool. Fig. 2 is a bottom end view of the scoop, showing the position of the cutters 'relative to each other and also the dirt-holder; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank as cut from the sheet, the positions of the parts after being bent into shape being shown in dotted lines.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all of the drawings.

A represents the body of the scoop, which is out from a sheet of metal in the form shown in Fig. 3 and then bent into a half-cylinder, as shown in Fig. l. To the upper end of the body there is secured a handle B for operating the same. The lower end of the body A is fashioned into three blades a, b, and c. The blade a is of V shape, double-curved inwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, and has a cutting edge at d. The bladeb is also double-curved inwardly and supplied with a cutting edge at e. This blade l) not only cuts out a larger hole than the blade a, but serves also as a feed to draw th e tool into the ground.v The blade c is beveled to accommodate it to the earth. This blade c serves also as a gage for the cut of the blade b. The handle B is bent at h sufficiently to stand over the center of the cut or over the point of the blade Ct for the reason that when the tool is in operation the sides of the hole will be cut perpendicular without any care intheuse of the tool.

By the construction above described the blades take hold of the earth like a gimlet or auger and no downward pressure whatever is necessary to operate it. The operator needs only the strength to turn the auger around and the hole will be cut to the desired depth.

The manner of operating my device is as follows: The operator grasps the cross-bar of the handle B and sets the point of blade d on the ground in the center of the proposed hole he is about to cut, then turns the tool to the right, and as it is turned the blade a will cut a small round hole and the dirt will be forced up by the curve of the blade a upon the other two blades. The blade b will follow and cut or ream out alarger hole around the hole cut by the blade a. This blade b, being' set on a curve downwardly, will feed and draw the tool into the ground without a downward pressure from the hands of the operator. The dirt cut by the lblade b will also be carried up and held by the blade c.

It will be seen that the blade c, turning with its under surface on the uncut ground, will serve as a gage for the cut of the blade b, and the cut of the blade b will be just in proportion in depth as the distance the point on the blade Z) is below the horizontal surface of the bottom of the blade c. When the body A of the scoop is filled with dirt, the operator raises the tool and the various blades, especially the blade @,will prevent the dirt from falling back into the hole.

Having now described my invention, what AI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Iatent, is

A post-holc auger consisting of a semicylindrical body having three inwardly-curved blades formed upon its lower end, one of the IOO In testimony whereof I ax my signature in the Vpresence of two'witnesses.

' AUGUST H. MEIER. Vitnesses:

M. M. CADY, J. E. ROSSER. 

